Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) is Parthenon LLC's Largest Position

Parthenon LLC reduced its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT - Free Report) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 246,515 shares of the software giant's stock after selling 4,479 shares during the period. Microsoft makes up 12.6% of Parthenon LLC's portfolio, making the stock its biggest position. Parthenon LLC's holdings in Microsoft were worth $103,906,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC grew its position in Microsoft by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant's stock worth $2,515,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Oak Ridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 7.6% in the third quarter. Oak Ridge Investments LLC now owns 263,534 shares of the software giant's stock worth $113,399,000 after acquiring an additional 18,544 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 2.0% in the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 76,296 shares of the software giant's stock worth $32,830,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Campbell Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Microsoft during the third quarter valued at $3,314,000. Finally, Centric Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.7% in the third quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 16,156 shares of the software giant's stock valued at $6,789,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. 71.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSFT traded up $4.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $391.85. The stock had a trading volume of 18,959,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,280,218. The company has a market cap of $2.91 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.00. The business's 50 day moving average price is $385.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $411.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Microsoft Co. has a 1 year low of $344.79 and a 1 year high of $468.35.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The software giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.08. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. Research analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Microsoft's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MSFT. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $450.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $510.00 to $500.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Tigress Financial raised their target price on Microsoft from $550.00 to $595.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Microsoft in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Microsoft currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $493.13.

Microsoft Company Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.